The gentle sound of the waves echoed between the trees, flowing through like the tide. The yard attached to the small cabin had a garden that was full of wildflowers, and would attract all sorts moths and bees. It was tended to by the orphans who lived in the cabin, placed there by the Dreamkeepers of the nearby temple.
The two youngest girls, who were 10 and 13 years old, laid in the tall grass and looked up at the sunlight coming from between the trees. They wore matching dresses of layered purple, blue, and black fabric that looked like the night sky as they moved.
"What do you think it'll be like?" the youngest said quietly to her older friend. Her shimmering gold and green eyes were like precious stones that stood out against her gray-blue skin.
"What will what be like," the elder girl said in response coldly as she moved her silvery locks from her eyes and tucked them behind her pointed ears.
"Having parents again," she said back, her voice wavering slightly.
"I don't even remember mine, so I'm the last person you should ask," she said while fidgeting with a blade of grass, ripping it down the middle. Her pale skin was staining slightly on her fingertips with green as she did so. "I'm sure they'll take you home to their big house and give you all the Falconsweets you could eat. They'll walk you around town as their little tiefling pet."
She regretted the words as soon as they came out her mouth. Many of the folks that came through here were human, meaning as a Tiefling and a Half-Elf, they had seen their fair share of friends come and go.
Silence sat between them as they listened to the chirping of birds mixing with the rolling waves. The half-elf girl sat up and looked at her friend.
"Listen, I'm sorry. You didn't deserve that, just forget it," she said dismissively. "I've got my own shit to deal with and you're going to be so happy. I'll see if I can go with the Keepers next time they're called to the city and I'll sneak over and see you, okay?"
The young tiefling girl looked over at her friend and then undid the clasp on a necklace that sat around her neck. She removed it revealing a small gem that was tucked into her shirt. She held the necklace out to her friend and motioned for her to take it.
"Velara, I know it's your birthday and I wanted to give you something to remember me by," she said, her voice wavering slightly. "My... my mom told me that our dreams make us who we are. She said this necklace would make sure that I never lost myself."
Velara looked at the necklace and tried pushing it away, but the tiefling girl forced it into her hand. Velara held the necklace for a second before putting it around her neck.
"Fine, but I'm just borrowing it. I'll give it back when I visit," Velara said matter-of-factly. "And... listen I just wanted to tell you, I-"
"Einnare! Bring water from the well! We need it," a male voice called from the house. "And hurry up!"
Einnare said she'd be right back and smiled as she ran to the house. Velara held the necklace around her neck for a bit as she stood and took a deep breath as she held back tears. That's when she noticed that the forest was silent. She looked towards the trees all around her and only heard the distant waves crashing on the shore. Then she saw him. A tall, leathery-skinned being with twisted horns and rotting robes. He stood behind a tree watching as if waiting for something to happen.
Then Velara felt it, like every bone in her body broke at once as they began to rearrange and snap. Her skin began to rip and regrow, she was becoming taller, older, mature. She felt the necklace begin to burn as her body started resisting the change. Knowledge started filling her brain as she started to learn old magics and ancient knowledge.
*I'm 13... I'm turning... I'm turning into what I was born as... a... a Hag. But this necklace... it's... AGH*
Pain started searing as a second set of arms started to sprout from her. These limbs were old and thin, as if her body was trying to keep her and her true form separate. She looked at the horned being again, who looked as though he was holding a collar.
*Balthazar... that's his name...*
As the transformation began to slow, she looked down seeing the flesh and blood from her old life like a snake shedding its skin. She looked at her two sets of hands as her breath quickened, half of her wondering how Einnare could be molded under her hand, and the other horrified at what she is. As she was panicking, she felt her breath quickening as everything began to spin. And right before everything went black, she felt a collar snap around her neck.